They fought, now they fight to be remembered

Nov. 11, 2012

Unless you were there, you can’t understand the sadness that still lingers in their eyes.

Decades later, they still remember unimaginable and often unspeakable horrors. Horrors they carried with them when they returned home forever changed — some irrevocably broken.

They were just young men then, sent to fight for their country in Vietnam. Now in their 60s and 70s, on the 50th anniversary of the start of the war, they remember it not like it was yesterday, but as though it happened this morning.

There are moments relived over and over again. And they say the only ones who can relate to what they experienced are those who served alongside them, the ones they call Brothers.

They say “Welcome home” when they see each other, because they weren’t treated as heroes when they returned from Vietnam, as many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. fighting in that foreign conflict.

Some didn’t mention to anyone for 20 years that they had fought in Vietnam. And it took some even longer than that to admit they needed help adapting back into society.

Today through Tuesday, the Montgomery Advertiser commemorates the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War, telling the stories of those who served.